


Vicissitude

by greekfreak2



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-26 05:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4991566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greekfreak2/pseuds/greekfreak2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Manjoume didn't like being disrespected</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vicissitude

**Author's Note:**

> First fic I've written in a while. Gx rivalshipping

Manjoume supposed that this time he had been lucky. The defeat had been swift and unyielding, a strangely ruthless duel with Judai compared to what he was used to.

"Gotcha"

He looked up from the floor to find his opponent looking at him with a fake smile and making that ridiculous hand gesture.

"That was a fun duel!"

Manjoume stared, looking at Judai critically as polite applause sounded from around them. It had not been a fun duel, that much was obvious. Judai had battled as if to prove a point and had crippled his deck on the second turn. Manjoume had not lasted much longer.

"Liar"

He saw Judai's eyes widen, heard the hitch of his breath and felt the air around them shift. Squaring his shoulders, Manjoume picked himself off the floor and began walking toward the exit of the arena. He would not be so blatantly lied to.

"Manjoume! Wait!"

Manjoume did not turn around, his pace picking up as he continued his exit. He felt strangely hurt. In all the times that they had dueled he had always felt respected, despite his constant losses. Judai's wins had just motivated him more, fueled his desire to become a better opponent. This time had been different. Besides, he had thought that there were some sort of feelings between them. Granted, they were not yet developed or even acknowledged, hell, they had even been pushed to the side after that entire Yubel fiasco but...he had thought that they were there. He had not felt so disrespected in a long time.

He approached his dorm room swiftly, batting gently at Ojama Yellow who had materialised in front of him.  He vaguely heard the other duelist slowing down from his pursuit, his panting breath soft in the air.

"Manjoume, please!"

It was the desperate tone of Judai's voice that made Manjoume falter. Closing his eyes for a moment to compose himself Manjoume turned around to face his rival.

"It's San-da"

Judai at least had the decency to look guilty, slowly approaching him as if he were a wounded animal. Good, he should be guilty.  

"I'm sorry"

Empty words, Manjoume thought.

"For what exactly?"

Judai looked at the ground, scuffing his shoe as he came to a stop.

"I was jealous"

Manjoume startled. Jealous? Jealous of what? Clearly not his own dueling skills. He did not know that Judai had the capability to be jealous. The thought of it alone seemed absurd.

"You were jealous?" He said with a laugh. "Jealous of what exactly?"

"I..." Judai faltered, his brown eyes stubbornly refusing to meet Manjoume's own. "I..."

"If you're not going to explain yourself, I'm going inside"

He heard Judai make a noise of protest as he turned around to grasp the handle of his dorm room door. He needed a drink. Or at least a nap on his huge bed to forget that any of this had even happened. Whatever had gotten into Judai, he could deal with it in his own time.

"Please"

'Too little too late', Manjoume thought. 'I deserve better than this'. He turned the handle, hearing it creak as he began pushing the door open.

"I NEED YOU"

What?

Manjoume let the door knob slip out of his grasp, his hand falling limply to his side and back still facing the Slifer. What was Judai thinking?

He turned around, eyes searching for Judai's face and landing their mark when the brown haired duelist met his eyes.

"What are you on about?"

Judai squared his shoulders, closing his eyes and inhaling and exhaling deeply before looking to him again. Manjoume startled. Judai's eyes looked sad, as if there was a weight on them that had finally proven too much to bear.

"I need you, Manjoume"

This time it had been softer, more tender. It was not something that Manjoume was used to, not directed at him and definitely not from Judai. It felt....good, somewhat.  But good did not explain the reasons for the drop out's earlier actions.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that I can't breathe without you, Manjoume. I can't...do anything and I hate myself. I hate myself for what happened to you in the Dark World and I hate myself that I can't bear to see you with other people all the time and not with me. And I hate that it's my fault that that happened and that I don't have the strength to stay away from you"

Judai's eyes bore holes into his own and Manjoume was transfixed.

"I tried to do it myself, to distance myself and save you all from the shadows but I can't do it anymore. Especially you but..."

It physically pained Manjoume to see Judai so distraught. He hadn't known, how could he? Not when Judai had changed into a completely different person after returning from the sky. Hell, he hadn't spoken more than 3 sentences to him that didn't happen during a duel.

"It hurts to much and I'm tired"

Manjoume stared as Judai stopped talking and his shoulders slumped. He looked defeated. It didn't suit him. His heart twisted painfully.

"Baka"

He stepped forward, arms opening and embracing the red duelist, feeling Judai soften into his hold. Judai was an idiot, that much was certain. He was an idiot and, where before he had never thought things through before rushing headlong into them, now he thought too much.

And yet...

"You think that we don't need you too. That I don't need you? You always save us"

He felt Judai stiffen at that, mentally cursing himself for the added burden.

"Calm down drop out, I'm not done. You save us but we are also capable of saving ourselves. We need you to be your own stupid self. We need you to be Judai"

"I hurt you. I thought I killed you. I hurt so many people"

Manjoume rolled his eyes.

"News flash, everyone makes mistakes. You most of all. So stop beating yourself up over this and start living your life again. You deserve a break Judai"

Judai clutched him harder, Manjoume's hand coming to rest on the back of his head. He felt his chest vibrate as Judai spoke into it.

"Just don't let go for a minute, yeah?"

Manjoume had no problem with that. It felt nice having Judai in his arms. It felt like home.

"Like I would ever would, drop out"


End file.
